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Belfrics looks to sign on State govts for blockchain tech

Belfrics Global, a Singapore-based blockchain solution provider and a crypto asset exchange, is looking to convince various State governments and departments to adopt blockchain technology. It has signed an MoU with the Andhra Pradesh government in this regard, according to its founder and CEO, Praveen Kumar.

State governments can use blockchain solutions in many ways starting from error-free issuance of birth, marriage or death certificates to ensure faster and accurate contract bidding to speedy legal trials.

“We have been liasing with various state governments for on-boarding various public services on the blockchain. Andhra Government leads in blockchain adoption and we work very closely with them. We are talking to few banks too,” Kumar said, adding that the company has had a good traction in its blockchain application development solutions and expects this business to grow at a 300 per cent CAGR.

Belfrics, which entered the Indian market with its crypto-asset exchange last year, witnessed a bumpy ride following regulatory challenges with regard to crypto-currencies, especially Bitcoins after banking regulator RBI cautioned users from trading or dealing in digital currencies. The last nail in the coffin was after Finance Minister Arun Jaitely announced in his Budget speech that crypto currencies were not legal tenders following which all the major banks in the country withdrew their support from the crypto exchanges such as Zebpay, Unocoin, Belfrics and Coinsure.

“We had added customers steadily throughout the year for our exchange operations but now have taken a decision to halt taking INR deposits and trading services since last month and a half,” Kumar said, adding that the focus is on expanding the blockchain consultancy and development solution.

Belfrics already has various governments, universities and many private enterprises as its clients for blockchain consultancy and development solutions. “With the Central government’s reiteration of blockchain adoption, we expect to make considerable inroads to Indian enterprises for blockchain services in 2018,” he added.

The company is also launching its flagship KYC-compliant blockchain, Belrium, in April this year. “We will be powering governments and private institutions with Belrium KYC layer post launch, which reduce the time and cost considerably for KYC verification,” Kumar said.